1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Showcase which constitutes a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall and is provided with a lighting system for illuminating the inside of the storeroom or the Showcase itself.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This type of conventional Showcase discharges a cold air from a discharge opening formed on the upper edge of an opening of a heat insulating wall having a substantially-U-shaped cross section toward a suction opening at the lower edge of the opening to form an air curtain at the opening as shown in, for example, Japanese patent application laid-open No. 91822-1995 (F25D27/00). Further, it cools down the storeroom surrounded by the heat insulating wall at a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, a plurality of fluorescent tubes are provided on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening or both side edges of the opening and under shelves to illuminate the inside of the storeroom and the Showcase itself.
The illumination structure of this conventional Showcase will now be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal side view showing a prior art Showcase 100, and reference numeral 101 designates a heat insulating wall having a substantially-U-shaped cross section. Non-illustrated side walls are provided on the both sides of the heat insulating wall 101, and a storeroom 103 is formed on the inner side of the heat insulating wall 101 and the side walls. In addition, a plurality of shelves 104 are provided to the storeroom 103 in the vertical direction.
A permeable shade 105 is provided on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening of the heat insulating wall 101, and a fluorescent tube 108 is provided on the inner side of the shade 107 to illuminate the front side of the Showcase 100. Furthermore, a shade 107 is disposed to the front edge of the side wall, and a fluorescent tube 108 is provided on the inner side of the shade 107 to illuminate the inside of the storeroom 103 and the Showcase 100. Additionally, a fluorescent tube 109 is provided on the lower surface of the front portion of the shelf 104 to illuminate goods and the like displayed on the shelf 104.
However, since the prior art Showcase uses the fluorescent tubes as a lighting system, spaces for housing the respective fluorescent tubes must be assured at attachment positions. Therefore, large spaces for housing the fluorescent tubes are required, which reduces a space for displaying-goods. In addition, sockets on the both sides must be also provided in order to attach the fluorescent tube, which makes it difficult to provide a lead wire and deteriorates the assembling operability. Further, a number of parts and the manufacturing cost may be increased.
In particular, the shade must be provided to the fluorescent tube disposed on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening in order to prevent light rays from directly entering eyes of customers and others. This deteriorates the attachment/detachment operability and the assembling operability of the fluorescent tube provided on the inner side of the shade.
Moreover, as to the fluorescent tube disposed in the storeroom, since the inside of the storeroom is cooled down to a predetermined temperature, the illumination intensity to the energized power quantity is lowered due to the temperature dependency of the fluorescent tube.
Further, since the lighting failure of the fluorescent tube occurs due to the aged deterioration in a short period of time, the maintenance such as the operation for replacing the fluorescent lamp becomes troublesome.
In order to solve the conventional technical drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to provide a Showcase which can enlarge a space for housing goods and includes a lighting system which can be easily maintained.
That is, the Showcase according to the present invention comprises a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall, and flat fluorescent lamps are provided.
According to the present invention, since the Showcase comprises a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall and flat fluorescent lamps are provided, it is possible to illuminate the inside of the storeroom and the outer surface of the Showcase. Consequently, the width of the attachment space can be narrowed as compared with the cases where the fluorescent tubes are used as the lighting system as in the prior art, thereby reducing the space. Further, the maintenance for replacing the illumination lamps can be facilitated, and a problems of decrease in the illumination intensity due to a temperature can be eliminated because the flat fluorescent lamps are superior in the low temperature property.
Additionally, since the flat fluorescent lamps has a durable period which is much longer than that of the conventional fluorescent tubes as the lighting system, the troublesome operation for carrying out the maintenance such as replacement of the fluorescent tubes due to the lighting failure can be avoided.
In the Showcase of the present invention, a flat fluorescent lamp is attached to the front surface of the heat insulating wall.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front surface of the heat insulating wall, the width of the illumination housing space for illuminating the front surface of the heat insulating wall can be narrowed, and the width of the entire Showcase can be reduced or the depth of the shelf can be enlarged.
In addition, since the flat fluorescent lamp attached to the front surface of the heat insulating wall hardly has heat on the surface thereof, a problem of occurrence of burn injury can be avoided even if a customer and the like touches the surface of the flat fluorescent lamp, thereby improving the safety. Moreover, since the surface of the flat fluorescent lamp is constituted by a lactescence glass surface, a shade does not have to be additionally provided. Thus, a number of parts can be reduced, and the width can be narrowed because of absence of the shade.
Further, in the Showcase according to the present invention, a shade or a ground glass is provided to the front surface of the flat fluorescent lamp.
According to the present invention, since a shade or a ground glass is provided to the front surface of the flat fluorescent lamp, the decoration can be applied to the front surface of the Showcase, thereby stimulating the buying inclination of customers.
In the Showcase according to the present invention, the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front portion of a ceiling surface of the storeroom.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front portion of the ceiling surface of the storeroom, it is not necessary to additionally provide a space for housing the fluorescent tube as in the prior art, thereby effectively utilizing the inside of the storeroom.
Moreover, since the flat fluorescent lamp is superior in the low temperature property, a problem of decrease in the illumination intensity can be eliminated even if it is provided in the storeroom with a relatively low temperature. Additionally, since the flat fluorescent lamp does not have heat on the surface thereof, the reduction in the cooling efficiency of the Showcase itself due to the heat load can be avoided. Further, the inside of the flat fluorescent lamp substantially forms a vacuum, it has the adiabatic effect, and dew drops can be prevented from being formed on the surface. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to use a heating element to avoid dew formation, thereby reducing the cost.
Furthermore, in the Showcase according to the present invention, the flat fluorescent lamps are provided on both sides of the opening of the storeroom.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamps are provided on the both sides of the opening of the storeroom, the storeroom can obtain the illumination from the sides. Since the lighting system can be disposed with a small width dimension without requiring a space for providing a fluorescent tube and a shade for covering the fluorescent tube, goods mounted on the side end portion of the storeroom can be displayed without being covered with the shade and the like.
Further, in the Showcase according to the present invention, the commercial display showroom which is opened to the front side is constituted in the heat insulating wall, and a deck pan is provided on the bottom of the storeroom, the flat fluorescent lamp being disposed to the front portion of the deck pan in the horizontal direction.
According to the present invention, in the Showcase which constitutes the commercial display storeroom opened to the front side in the heat insulating wall and provides the deck pan on the bottom of the storeroom, since the flat fluorescent lamp is disposed to the front portion of the deck pan in the horizontal direction, goods displayed on the shelf and the deck pan can be illuminated because the inside of the storeroom is illuminated from the lower side, thereby improving the display effect. In addition, since the flat fluorescent lamp does not have heat load and does not hence heat the goods displayed on the deck pan and the cold air in the vicinity of these goods, the cooling efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the flat fluorescent lamp is superior in the low temperature property even if it is provided in the vicinity of the suction opening of the cold air, the reduction in the illumination intensity can be avoided.
Additionally, the Showcase according to the present invention constitutes the commercial display storeroom opened to the front face in the heat insulating wall and provides a plurality of shelves in the storeroom, the flat fluorescent lamps being provided to the lower surfaces of the front portions of the shelves.
The present invention provides the Showcase which constitutes the commercial display storeroom opened to the front face in the heat insulating wall and provides a plurality of shelves in the storeroom, and the flat fluorescent lamps are provided to the lower surfaces of the front portions of the shelves. Therefore, goods on the shelves can be effectively illuminated. As compared to illuminating the lower shelves by using the fluorescent tubes in the prior art, a space for providing the fluorescent tubes is not required, and the lower shelves can be illuminated with a small width dimension. Thus, the dimension between the respective shelves can be enlarged.
Further, since the flat fluorescent lamp does not have the heat load and does not hence heat goods displayed on the shelf, the cooling efficiency can be improved. Moreover, when a number of shelves is increased, the heat load of the conventional lighting system using the fluorescent tubes becomes large so that the capability of the compressor must be enhanced. However, according to the present invention, the heat load is not generated and the capacity of the compressor does not have to be enhanced, which enables the cooling operation and is economically excellent.
Furthermore, the Showcase according to the present invention constitutes in the heat insulating wall a commercial display storeroom which is opened to the front face and provides a hand rail to the lower edge of the opening of the storeroom in the horizontal direction. A slant surface deeply inclined toward the storeroom is formed to the rear surface of the hand rail, and the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the slant surface.
The present invention provides the Showcase which constitutes in the heat insulating wall the commercial display storeroom which is opened to the front face and provides a hand rail to the lower edge of the opening of the storeroom in the horizontal direction, wherein a slant surface deeply inclined toward the storeroom side is formed to the rear surface of the hand rail, and the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the slant surface. Therefore, it is possible to illuminate goods displayed on the shelves and the deck pan, thereby improving the display effect.
In addition, the Showcase according to the present invention constitutes in the heat insulating wall the commercial display storeroom opened to the front face, and the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front face of the front lower wall fringing the lower edge of the opening of the storeroom.
The present invention provides the Showcase which constitutes in the heat insulating wall the commercial display storeroom opened to the front face, and since the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front face of the front lower wall fringing the lower edge of the opening of the storeroom, it is possible to illuminate the inside of the storeroom from the front lower side, thereby further effectively illuminating the displayed goods.
Additionally, according to the Showcase of the present invention, the front opening of the storeroom is blocked by a plurality of sliding doors so as to be opened/closed without restraint, column supports are vertically provided in the storeroom behind positions where the respective doors overlap one on another with the opening being closed, shelves being installed to the column supports, the flat fluorescent lamps being disposed to the rear surface of the column supports.
According to the present invention, in the Showcase in which the front opening of the storeroom is blocked by a plurality of sliding doors so as to be opened/closed without restraint, column supports are vertically provided in the storeroom corresponding to the rear sides of positions where the respective doors overlap one on another with the opening being closed and the shelves are installed to the column supports, since the flat fluorescent lamps are disposed to the rear surfaces of the column supports, the inside of the storeroom can be illuminated in the vertical direction from the front face, thereby effectively illuminating the goods displayed on the shelves. Moreover, since illumination is carried out by disposing the flat fluorescent lamp having a narrow width, a space for disposing the lighting system does not have to be additionally secured, the sufficient area of the shelves can be assured, thus increasing a number of goods to be displayed. Further, since the flat fluorescent lamp does not have heat load, it does not heat the goods to be displayed, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the entire Showcase.
Furthermore, a door frame is provided to the opening edge of the storeroom and the doors are provided in the door frame. Also, the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the rear surface of the door frame.
According to the present invention, since the door frame is provided to the opening edge of the storeroom and the doors are provided in the door frame. Further, the flat fluorescent lamp is disposed to the rear surface of the door frame. Therefore, since the illumination can be obtained from the front side in the storeroom toward the shelves, the goods on the shelves 77 can be effectively illuminated. Furthermore, since the flat fluorescent lamp is thin, the commercial display space in the storeroom can be effectively used.